Ronnie Tjampitjinpa

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BORN circa 1942

REGION Kintore

LANGUAGE Pintupi

Background

Ronnie was born around 1943 near Muyinnga, about 100 kilometres west of the Kintore ranges in Western Australia. His family moved extensively across the Pintupi territory up through the Northern Territory, living the traditional ways, which his people have lived for over 40,000 years.

Ronnie and his younger brother, Smithy Zimarron, originally came in from the bush at Yuendumu.He was initiated into Aboriginal Law (manhood) in the early 1950’s at Yumari near his birthplace. Shortly afterwards, due to drought conditions in the 1950’s, Ronnie and his family moved towards Haasts Bluff and then later joined relatives at the newly settled Papunya community. He found work as a fencer making the yards for cattle in the surrounding area. He spent most of his early life in a nomadic existencein the remote Gibson Desert, on the W.A / N.T border. For many years he moved between Papunya, Yuendumu and Mt Doreen Station. Later becoming a stockman in the late 1950’s.

It was during this time that he started to take an interest in the art movement happening at this time. Shortly after he started painting, he discussed with many people about moving back into the traditional lands, which is the basis of their lives. His goal was made possible by the establishment of the Kintore settlement in 1981.

By being more in touch with his traditional lands and the Dreaming, Ronnie soon emerged as one of Papunya Tula’s major artists. His work reflects his directs ties with his culture, retaining a purity that many other aboriginal artists have not achieved. Ronnie’s work follows the strict Pintupi style of strong circles joined together by connecting lines relating to the people and the land and the Dreamtime.

Ronnie’s style tends towards simple, geometric shapes and bold lines. He explores the themes of water dreaming, bushfire dreaming and the Tingari cycle. Tingari are the legendary beings of the Pintupi people that travelled the desert performing rituals, teaching law, creating landforms and shaping what would become ceremonial sites. As far as we can know, the meanings behind Tingari paintings are multi-layered, however, those meaning are not available to the uninitiated.

His work has a simplicity that makes it appealing, yet mysterious as the uninitiated try to understand what he is
painting. By painting the Dreamtime he is helping to resurrect the Aboriginal culture as a whole and allow outsiders to learn about one of the oldest cultures in the world. This work is important to the spirituality of this land, bridging the gap between European life and Traditional Aboriginal Life, which is important in exposing and healing this gap.

Being one of the major Aboriginal Artists his work has featured in numerous exhibitions and collections around Australia. He has had solo exhibitions at the Utopia Gallery and the Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi. Several of his group exhibitions include the Dreamtime Gallery, The Australian National Gallery and the Art Gallery of South Australia. He is also in permanent collections at the National Gallery and the Art Gallery of Victoria and the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory.

Ronnie Tjampitjinpa was the winner of the 1988 Alice Springs Art Prize and is shown in numerous major public and private galleries worldwide. He is married to Mary Brown Napangardi and currently spends his time between Alice Springs and his home in Kintore.

Featured Artist

“I want to connect with the viewer by using colour and familiar motifs that are typically associated with the Australian environment. Exaggeration of space and elements create a theatrical representation of the landscape.”

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